EVENTS: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 06 — Mazdas

Vintage rotaries took a prime position at this year’s JCCS, thanks to a classy display by Mazda. Imagine a hillside blooming with brightly colored pistonless wonders from Hiroshima, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what the Mazda section looked like at this year’s Japanese Classic Car Show.

Standing in contrast to many of the modified Mazdas on the field was a perennial favorite, Gerald Randon’s Mazda RX-3 Wagon, one of the most well-preserved examples we’ve seen.

Perhaps the most eye-catching Mazda was the purple beast at Star Road’s booth, wearing Glow Star wheels and Katayama-style flares.

Yoshiya Yajima’s street-ported 1991 FC3S Turbo looked Wangan-ready and was awarded third place in Best RX-7 class.

Hector Alvarez’s 1975 REPU still wore its original paint, and took third in the Best Classic Mazda category.

Early rotaries were represented by a bright red “sex spec” Mazda R100 and Jose Vasquez’s 1977 RX-3 SP, which took home the second-place prize in Best Classic Mazda.

Chris Taylor’s 1971 RX-2 was one of the most impressive builds at the show. According to Chris, it was originally owned by Shannon McMasters, the founder of the Spec Miata race series. Its 13B-REW engine was built by Pineapple Racing of Oregon and tuned by rotary drag racing legend Abel Ibarra. The body was taken down to bare metal for a just-completed nut-and-bolt restoration. For his efforts, Chris walked away with a much-deserved first place in the Best Classic Mazda category.

Capping off a row of SA22s was Jerry Rosenblum’s pristine 1985 GSL-SE. It looked brand new because it basically was, with just 18,000 miles on the odometer. Jerry’s was an easy win for first place in the Best RX-7 class.

Sigh, no uncommon models like the MX-6 turbo… Not even a 323GTX? Modified RX-7s are AAA common as rain, it would be nice to see the unsung bread and butter cars like 808s, 818s, and maybe even a 121 Ford Festiva…

Sorry, I don’t know what to tell you. Some of those are impossibly rare, like the 808 and 818, and as you know the amount of money needed to restore one would be many times what it would be worth. If you love something, the only way to ensure it lives on is to preserve one yourself.

Friend had an RX-3. Never really took care of it. Had a bad backfire problem. So we’re driving in town, car starts to stall out. Dies, then POW! Huge backfire like a bomb went off. He’s embarrassed, I’m laughing my ass off. Ah, being a teenager in the 70s…

Yes, that is definitely a B1600 and not a Courier. The quad headlights and the embossed Mazda tailgate set the B1600 apart from the lowly Courier. Surviving B1600’s are far more rare than even a REPU these days… and I say that as a REPU owner. That chassis dates back all the way to 1965 and it’s definitely aged well IMO.